Blog suspended

Hi all,

I find I've been too busy to post anything on my blog, and I don't see this change in the near future.

Sorry for not clarifying this earlier.

I guess you'll have to ask me questions when you see me in person! ;-)

Thanks for following all this time!

Frederik

Excellent news article

"Much is now being written and broadcast in the California news media and national publications, such as the New York Times, about [...] first Mother Lode gold mine to restart in decades." More.

Social Security Burger

Today's lunch: cheeseburger + fries, in the In-n-Out. Co-workers rave about the chain. But they were also raving about Taco Bell...

"What, you've never had Taco Bell before?"

"Lucky you!!"

"Boy, are you in for a treat!!!"

So while I take a bite, they're all watching me like fireworks on New Year's Eve.

I take a bite - turns out the thing is garbage...

"Yeah, this is not bad!" *eking out my best smile*

Now, the In-n-Out burger was indeed not bad: still a little bland, but surprisingly non-greasy, and the fries were very nice - cut in-house from potatoes, and you can taste that.

Downside: they're constantly yelling numbers (orders that are ready for pick-up at the counter). Makes you want to leave ASAP.

It's really the exception for me to order a fastfood lunch, but today I was in Sacramento with a co-worker. I'd gone all the way down there to the social security office (in person, sigh, to get some piece of paper) and he happened to be around and picked me up on the way back to the work site. That way I only lost half a day, instead of a full one, frigging social secur#$@%#%/*&!!

Sunshine State

Sunshine before, during, and after work - it's unbelievable:

For comparison:

Not so 'hot' right now... I hope you guys get your fair share of sunshine soon!

Gold rush

After work I sneaked into the small movie theatre at work where the visitors get to see a documentary on the gold rush, before they go on the underground tour. What got me on the edge of my seat were their descriptions of the gold seekers: the most entrepreneurial and risk-taking young men moved West to try their luck, populated California (San Francisco went from a few hundred inhabitants to hundreds of thousands, overnight!) and still define its culture (is it a coincidence Silicon Valley is exactly here? And all those venture capitalists? ).

This makes me think of that other gold rush going on today, or rather commodities rush. Whether it's young New Zealanders seeking their fortune in the Australian mines, or 20-year-olds earning 6 figures driving dump trucks in Fort McMurray, or someone like me just looking for an exciting career in the middle of the action, it's the friggin' same thing!

From tourism to digging

We're in the press! A whole series of newspapers have written about us.

This is an older article about the project.

Come take a look!

For an idea what it's like here in Sutter Creek and in the mine check out this page (from the company who does the underground tours -- which will end in August by the way, as the mine goes into development and production).

1. the picture on the top of the page

2. the first video (1:07-2:45 shows the town and some tunnels underground).

3. the second video is half an hour long, but it's super-realistic!

Tuesday

Today I was fire watch while my co-worker disassembled the rest of that huge piece of mining equipment with a torch (have to make sure the grassy hills don't catch fire!). We stop around noon when it gets hot (by then it's 108°F / 43 °C in the sun). Yes, Allison warned me it was going to be a hot day! (100+°F)

In the afternoon we go barring down rock in the deepest mine shafts that we have pumped dry. You can tell the boss has a mine labor background!

In the meantime I'm also working my way through a 220-page technical report on our gold mining project. Help!

Monday

Caught up on sleep over the weekend! Nice weather. At the worksite we watched a crane lift pieces (jaw crusher to crush rocks, ...) from a huge piece of mobile mining equipment, to be used in our future mill. Very cool!

Pictures will follow.

Later in the day I was down in the mine where I saw the boss drive around a mucker. Very, very cool sight!

Closing the day in the local bar (boss bought us a round because the crane job had gone so well).

Sunday

A slow Sunday, I'm cleaning the studio I moved into.

Great! I've got all the pasta, cooking pots, ... I need for the week. But where is the knife & fork I thought I'd put in my suitcase?

I'm not going to walk back to Safeway (do they even sell that stuff?). Wait, didn't the hotel I stayed at have plastic forks?

I end the day with a visit to the local bar, and enjoy a wonderful sunset. Note to self: I should start taking pictures.

Saturday

Went grocery shopping to Safeway. No buses on weekends (budget cuts), so that's 40 minutes on foot with a backpack, in the sun. On the way back it's near noon and getting pretty warm! I'll be glad when I get my hands on a bike or a car.

Overall it was a nice day - hot but not too hot!

Friday, day 3

For an impression of the mine site, go to this page and scroll down to the group of colored pictures at the bottom.

After work I decide on and move into my own place, in Sutter Creek, just 2km (1.5 miles) from the mine. Good, because my transportation for now... my feet!

Thursday, day 2

Beautiful hills and colorful sunsets!

Not as blazing hot as yesterday. I had some safety training at work. After work, I'm going apartment hunting.

Wednesday, day 1

Flew into San Francisco yesterday and met up with Aïda and Allison for (very late!) dinner in Davis. It was nice to see you back, guys, and thanks again for your hospitality!

After a waffles/strawberries/whipped cream breakfast, Aïda dropped me off at my new workplace, the gold mine in Sutter Creek! Blazing hot day (95°F, 35°C). Much hotter than San Francisco! I hope I'll get acclimatized to this!

They put me on a cart with tourists for a tour in the underground mine. Not bad for a first day at work!

Update

A brief update of the last 6 months:

- January: I quit my labourer job to start harassing oil companies full time

- March: I went on holiday, err... family visit, to Hawaii with John, Aïda and Allison.

- April: a gold mining startup in California offered me a job as a mine engineering intern! ... if I can sort out visa matters (I'd spend my last weeks in Canada on that)

- May: trip to Belgium to visit friends and family I haven't seen in a long time

- June: back across the pond, this time to Calfornia to go work on the mining project

I've decided to keep you guys posted on this blog, with shorter but more regular updates. Californian stories on my Canadian blog... but half of you think I'm "back in Canada", anyway! :P

Look where I'll be based - I couldn't think of a better spot than this one. Right in between family in the Bay Area and Davis, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite -- all less than 2 hours away!

Not Bad for Canadian Winter

The temperature is 10°C (50°F), but it feels warmer. I was wearing just a T-shirt below a thin wind jacket, and I felt like I was going to start sweating if I walked too fast. 

Not bad for a city that lies a thousand meters high, with a frozen river and a snowy mountain range in sight.

Actually we're just 7°C below Orinda, California. Allison and Aïda, when we go outside I'm pretty sure we all feel the same temperature.